Sten (born in 1979, Rome) and Lex (born in 1980, Taranto), known as Sten & Lex, started out in 2001 and are regarded as pioneers of stencil graffiti in Italy. The Italian duo is best known in the history of stencil-making for being the first to experiment with the halftone stencil technique, in which the greater part of an image is composed of thousands of lines.
In 2008, they were invited by Banksy to participate in the Cans Festival, along with the most talented street artists of their generation.
In 2009, they started experimenting with what they call "stencil poster", a technique that involves paper stencils that are glued to a surface, painted over, then sliced open to reveal the painted motif, with shreds of paper left hanging like peeling skin.
Their prolific career includes memorable shows around the world as well as large-scale projects such as painting the facade of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome (MACRO), or creating the largest stencil poster in the world on the walls of the Luis Elizondo Auditorium in Monterry, Mexico, covering an area of 4 000 square meters.
In September 2020 they inaugurated their first museum solo show in Galleria d’Arte Moderna of Rome.
They live in Rome.